Spring cushioning device



' fNo. 752,515. PATENTBD FEB. I6, 1904.

vC.P.BYRNB& SPRING GUSHIONIIIG DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.B.1902L N0 MODEL.

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witnesses No. 752,515. Y

UNITED STATES Patented February 16, 1904.

CLARENC BYRNES, OF SEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPRING. CUSHIQNING. DEVICE.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,515, dated February 16, 1904.-. i

Application fued April s, 1902. serai No. 101,928. (No mda.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE P. BYRNEs, of Sewickley, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Spring Cushioning Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip.- tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Y Figure 1 is a top plan View, partly broken away, showing a draft-rigging provided with my improved cushioning device. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section onvthe line II II of Fig.` 1 looking toward the left, and Fig. l3 is a veri tical cross-section on the irregular line III III of Fig. l looking toward the right. My invention relates to cushioning devices for receiving shocks or strains such Yas used in car-springs, buffers; draft-riggings, recoil devices for ordnance, dac.; and itis designed to provide a simple and compact cushioning system wherein an incline or inclines act to `force friction elements radially toward or from the axial center of the cushion, these inclines acting on said friction elements both on buffing and onf tugging strains.

The invention is also designed to provide a spring-cushion containing a coiled spring and a friction element 'added to the spring and arranged to have frictional contact with it, the cushion having an incline arranged to force the friction element toward the spring, and also to provide inclines which will force the friction element toward the spring on both bufting and tugging strains and to afford a simple, strong, and compact cushion system which may be readily applied to existing draftriggings or other positions for such cuhions. In the drawings, in which I show a simple form of my invention applied to a draft-rigging, 2 2 are the oppositely-arranged draftirons, having end stops 3 8 and intermediate stops 4 4 for the end followers 5. Tostrengthen the stops 4, I preferably p rovide them with lateral ribs or webs 6, extending longitudinally of the rigging, the 'followers having suitable slots to receive these ribs, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. j

Between the stops 4 4 are seated two cages 7 7, which rest upon the inwardly-projecting lower anges 8 8 of the draft-irons, on which the followers also rest. These cages 7 are preferably rectangular, and their inner side faces are oppositely inclined, as shown in Fig. l. The inclined faces of both sliding cages fit uponthe similarly-inclined faces of frictionf plates 9 9, the inner faces of which are curved or of general semicylindrical form to fit upon the coils of a spiral spring 10. The material of this spring is preferably square in crosssection, though it may be made of any desirable shape. The friction-plates preferably extend longitudinally beyond the cages, and the followers 5 are provided with projecting portions l1, which are arranged to contact with the end faces of the cages between the stops 4 and the friction-plates. These projections are preferably of the form shown in Fig. 2 to give strength, though they may be merely in the form of a vertical flange projecting inwardly at the side portions of each follower.

l2 is the usual yoke, which surrounds the followers and -gives endwise movement thereto, and 13 is a spiral spring of smaller diameter, which is preferably arranged within the spring 10 and engages central seats in the followers.

In the operation of the device when either v abufing or pulling strain is exerted one `of the followers will move inwardly a certain distance against the pressure of the springs, and the projections of this follower will then strike the end faces of one of the cages and drive this.

cage toward the other cage. As the one cage is thus moved it will act upon the fiat inclined outer faces of the friction-plates and tend to force it longitudinally and inwardly. The other inclinesof the Vfriction-plates coacting with those of the other cage will thereupon v The advantages of my invention result from I 0'0 the simplicity of the arrangement, which adds a frictionv system to the ordinary draft-rigging. As the friction-plates are pressed upon the yielding spring an easy action is azorded, since the spring tends to be compressed to a smaller diameter and to elongate. The point in the stroke where the friction is added can be easily regulated. The same friction-plates may act in buiing as in pulling, and the system can be easily applied to existing draftr1gg1ngs.

In usingthe device as a simple spring-cushion one of the sets of inclined faces may be done away with, though I prefer to use both sets in order to give parallel movement. The springcoils may be provided with cover` plates, as in my copending application Serial No. 49,915, and my claims are intended to cover this change.

Manychanges may be made in the form and arrangement of the parts within the scope of my invention.

I claim- 1. A spring-cushion having a longitudinal coil-spring extending parallel to the axis of the cushion, and a friction element, one of said parts being located around or including the other, and an incline arranged to move the friction element toward the spring; substan- 'tially as described.

2. A spring-cushion having a coiled spring, radially-movable friction elements arranged around the spring, and inclines arranged to force the friction elements inwardly toward the axis of the spring; substantially as described.

3. spring-cushion having a coiled spring concentric with its axis, friction-plates arranged around the spring and movable in a radial direction, and mechanism for forcing the plates inwardly toward the spring when the spring is compressed; substantially as described.

4. A spring-cushion having a coiled spring, a friction element around the spring, and an incline arranged to move the friction element inwardly toward the axis of the cushion; substantially as described.

5. A spring-cushion having a central yielding friction member, friction elements around said member, and mechanism for forcing the friction elements inwardly toward the axis of the cushion to cause frictionl upon the yielding member; substantially as described.

6. A spring-cushion having'a coiled spring, radially-movable friction-plates, and a parallel-motion device arranged to move the plate radially; substantially as described.l

7. A spring-cushion having a longitudinal coil-spring extending parallel to the axis of the cushion, and a friction element, one of said parts being arranged around or including the other, means for compressing the spring endwise, and mechanism independent of the spring for actuating the friction element; substantially as described.

8. A spring-cushion'having a coiled spring, and a friction device having friction-plates arranged to move toward' and from the axis of the cushion, a follower to compress the spring, and connections independent of the spring arranged to actuate the friction device and create friction independent of the'point in the stroke of the spring; substantially as described.

9. A spring-cushion having a coiled spring, and radially-movable friction elements, end followers arranged to compress the spring independently of the friction elements, and connections independent of the spring for moving the friction elements at a predetermined point in the stroke; substantially as described. Y

. 10. Aspring-cushionhavingacoiled spring, and a friction element having plates arranged to move toward and from the axis of the cushion, one located around or including the other means for compressing the spring endwise, and connections independent of the spring for simultaneously actuating the friction elements; substantially as described.

11. A spring-cushion having a coiled spring, a friction element around the spring and arranged to have frictional contact with it and an incline arranged to force the friction element inwardly; substantially as described.

12. A spring-cushion having a coiled spring, friction-plates with inclines, and longitudinally-movable elements with inclined faces arranged to force the friction-plates radially; substantially as described.

13. A spring-cushion having a coiled spring, radially-movable friction-plates with inclines, longitudinally-movable elements with inclined faces arranged to force the friction-plates inwardly toward the spring, and a follower arranged to actuate the longitudinally-moving elements; substantially as described.

14. A spring-cushion having a coiled spring, a follower arranged to compress the same, friction-plates around and arranged to contact with the spring and having inclines, and longitudinally sliding inclined blocks arranged to force the plates inwardly during the compression of the spring; substantially as described.

15. A draft-rigging having hollow friction elements. one arranged around or including the other and coacting inclines arranged to force one of said elements radially on both buiiing and pulling strains; substantially as described.

16. A draft-rigging having a central hollow friction element, a concentric spiral spring within it, other friction elements arranged around and including the same, and inclines arranged to force the outer friction elements toward the axis of the cushion on both buff- IOO IIO

ing and pulling strains; lsubstantially as de-A scribed.

17. A draft-rigging havinga coiled spring, a friction device arranged to have frictional contact withlthe coils of the spring, and mechanism for forcing the friction device radially in contact with the spring on both buiing and tugging strains; substantially .as described.

18. A draft-rigging having a concentric coiled spring, a plurality of radially-movable friction-plates, arranged to contact with the coils, and inclines arranged to force the plates radially into contact with the coils on both bufng and tugging strains; substantially as described. l

19. A draft-rigging having a concentric coiled spring, radially-movable friction elements arranged to contact with it, and a parallel-motion device arranged to move the plates radially on both buiiing and tugging strains; substantially as described.

20. A draft-rigging having a longitudinal coiled spring, radially-movable friction-plates around the spring, and inclines arranged to force the plates inwardly on both bufng and tugging strains; substantially as described.

21. A draft-rigging having a concentric coiled spring, outer friction-plates around the spring, having opposite inclines, and sliding blocks arranged to act upon the inclines and force the plates inwardly during both buiiing and tugging strains; substantially as dein contact with the spring, and inclines arranged to force the friction member against the spring, substantially as described.

24. A spring-cushion having a spiral-spring member, and a friction member contacting therewith, one of said members surrounding or engaging the other, and inclines arranged to force the friction member radially against the spiral-spring member, substantially as described.

25. A draft-rigging Vhaving 'a Spiral-spring member, a friction member contactingtherewith, one of said members surrounding or in.- cluding the other, and inclines arranged to act both in bufling and pulling to force the friction member radially against the spiralspring member; substantially as described.

26. A draft-rigging having a longitudinal coil-spring parallel with its axis, a plurality of plates arranged to move toward and from the axis, each plate having an incline at one end and an oppositely-directed incline at the other end, and longitudinally-movable wedge elements having inclined faces contacting with the inclines of the plates and arranged to move them toward and from the axis of the cushion on both bufling and pulling strains;

substantially as described.

my hand.

. C. P. BYRNES. Witnesses:

GEO. B. BLEMING, H. M. CORWIN. 

